SwedCham China Insights for the Week of 5 August – 9 August, 2024

SwedCham China Insights for 5 August – 9 August

Content Provided by Kreab

Top news of the week:

China moves to advance high-quality development of service consumption

5 August 2024

China will work to further develop consumer services to support high-quality economic development and meet people's demand for personalized, diversified and quality services, according to a guideline made public on August 3. The guideline, issued by the State Council, set out 20 key tasks, including tapping the potential of consumption in sectors such as hospitality, domestic services, elderly care, childcare, entertainment, tourism, sports, education and training.

China looks to ramp up renewables, manage demand in power upgrade plan

6 August 2024

China's state planner unveiled details on August 6 of a three-year plan to upgrade the power system as the country seeks to ramp up renewables and ease the strain of rising power demand on the national grid. The 2024-2027 plan launched by the National Reform and Development Commission aims to help China meet its goal of reaching a peak in carbon emissions before 2030 and includes guidance on the upgrading of transmission and distribution systems, the planning body said.

China’s foreign trade up 6.2% in first seven months of 2024

7 August 2024

China's total value of goods traded in the first seven months of this year reached 24.83 trillion yuan, marking a year-on-year increase of 6.2 percent, official data showed on August 7.

China leads global green patent applications with over 50% share

8 August 2024

China’s contributions to world sustainable development have been reflected by the robust growth of its patents, with a recent report by the country’s top intellectual property regulator saying that China had secured top spot in terms of the number of published green and low-carbon patent applications in 2023, recording a year-on-year increase of 20 percent and accounting for over half of the global total.

China moves to standardize carbon emission calculations

9 August 2024

China has released a plan to standardize carbon emission calculations across key sectors, as part of efforts to meet its carbon reduction targets. By the end of 2024, 70 national standards on carbon accounting, footprint, reduction, capture, utilization and storage will be published, covering all key sectors and companies, according to the plan.

Insight of the week:

The National Development and Reform Commission, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly issued a plan to standardize carbon emission calculations across key sectors, as part of efforts to meet China’s carbon reduction targets.

China will issue 70 national standards for carbon footprints, energy efficiency and consumption as well as carbon capture, utilization and storage in 2024, in another step to reach peak carbon emissions.

The country aims to build 100 carbon emission management standardization pilots in 2025, according to the plan. In 2025, a standardized calculation and evaluation system will be in place for businesses, projects and products, with key sectors and products meeting world-leading benchmarks for energy consumption control, according to the plan.

In particular, efforts will be made to accelerate the formulation of national carbon footprint standards for new energy vehicles, photovoltaic products and lithium batteries, which are emerging as new drivers of the country’s export growth. China will also work to standardize the carbon footprint of products such as electronics, plastics and construction materials, the plan said.

In a crucial document unveiled recently, China has pledged to improve the mechanisms for green and low-carbon development, saying it will enhance the cap-and-trade system for carbon emissions, and move toward reaching peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality.

The country aims to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.